THE EUROPEAN UNION http://www.ToLearnEnglish.com - Resources to learn/teach English

 

>> TEXT:

The European Union

Eight of the invited countries are in Eastern Europe. Until 1991, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania were part of the Soviet Union. Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Slovenia all had Communist governments. The E-U also offered membership to Malta and the Greek-ruled part of Cyprus.

The planned expansion would be the largest in the E-U’s history. It would create a community of more than 450 million people in twenty-five countries. The expansion also would create an economy of more than nine million million dollars. Such an economy would be close to that of the United States.

Intense negotiations took place at the Copenhagen meeting about the financial terms under which new members will join. Candidates for E-U membership had demanded more aid. Most of them are poorer than the average country in Western Europe. They also have shorter histories as democracies and had problems with dishonest governments. Many people in the invited countries did not fully support efforts to join the E-U.

Poland is the largest of the ten candidate countries. It had threatened to sabotage the expansion plans if it did not receive more aid. The agreement calls for the E-U to provide more than forty thousand million dollars in aid to the new members.

The expansion is planned for May, 2004. But first, citizens in each candidate country must approve E-U membership in a series of votes expected next year.

E-U members had hoped that a United Nations-negotiated agreement to end the division of Cyprus would be signed during the Copenhagen meeting. Cyprus has been divided between Greek and Turkish Cypriots since 1974.

The E-U offered membership to the southern, Greek side of Cyprus. The Turkish north could enter later if it agrees on terms to end the island’s division. Now, only the internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government will receive E-U membership.

In another development, Turkey accepted an E-U decision to delay considering its membership until December, 2004, at the earliest. E-U leaders said Turkey must make the political and human rights reforms necessary to begin talks about membership.

 

>> QUESTIONS:

THE EUROPEAN UNION

1. Where are most invited countries located?
a) In the USA
b) In Asia
c) In Eastern Europe

2. How many people would there be in the European Union in 2004?
a) less than 100 million
b) more than 450 million
c) more than 1 billion

3. Where did the last EU meeting take place?
a) In Denmark
b) In Spain
c) In England

4. Which is the largest invited country?
a) Poland
b) Estonia
c) Hungary

5. When are the candidate countries expected to join the EU?
a) In June 2003
b) In May 2004
c) In July 2005

6. What are the candidate countries required to do to join the EU?
a) They must learn French
b) They must organize votes to approve EU membership
c) They must stop trading with other countries

7. What is the political problem in Cyprus?
a) There is no government
b) The country is divided
c) Cyprus is governed by a king

8. No solution to the division of Cyprus was found in Copenhagen.
a) TRUE
b) FALSE

9. The Turkish part of Cyprus will never be able to join the EU.
a) TRUE
b) FALSE

10. The membership of Turkey has been delayed because EU leaders think there are political and human rights problems to solve in this country.
a) TRUE
b) FALSE

 

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IV) GRAMMAR: Comparatives

Most of the candidate countries are poorer than the average country in Western Europe. They also have shorter histories as democracies.

Main rule:
Comparatives are used to compare two things and to highlight the superiority, inferiority, or equality of one term compared to another.

Examples: Jean is taller than Catherine. Philippe is less tall than Jean. Leïla is as tall as Jean.
young --> younger | tall --> taller | old --> older

 

NOTES:
> If the adjective ends in "--y" the "y" becomes "i" : heavy --> heavier
> If the adjective ends in "--e" only an "r" is needed: wise --> wiser
> If the adjective ends with "single vowel + consonant" the consonant is doubled and one adds "--er" : big --> bigger
> Some very common adjectives have irregular comparatives: good --> better | bad --> worse | far --> farther

 

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V) VOCABULARY

COUNTRIES & NATIONALITIES

 

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VI) ANSWERS

> Anticipation:

> Reading Comprehension: 1. (c) 2. (b) 3. (a) 4. (a) 5. (b) 6. (b) 7. (b) 8. (a) 9. (b) 10. (a)

> Oral Comprehension: The European Union has officially asked ten countries to join the organization in 2004. The leaders of the fifteen current E-U member countries approved the invitations at a meeting in Copenhagen last week. Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen led the meeting. He called the decision, a victory for liberty and democracy. He also said that, a new Europe is born.

> Grammar (examples): Paul is younger than Michael. Michael is older than Paul. Paul is richer than Michael. Michael is less rich than Paul. Paul is as tall as Michael.

> Vocabulary: A2 - B4 - C6 - D9 - E1 - F5 - G10 - H7 - I8 - J3